Chapter 140: A Prank?

The nurse raised her head quickly to cast a glance at Mo Qi, gripped her clipboard tightly, and hurried past her.

Mo Qi frowned slightly. That nurse’s look just now made her feel very uncomfortable. How should she put it—something about it felt rather abnormal.

Turning to the side, Mo Qi saw the nurse enter the adjacent ward and could not help following her, peering through the glass window on the door for a moment.

The nurse smiled as she inquired about the patient's condition, then recorded it in her medical chart, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Was I just overthinking it?" Mo Qi shook her head. Even if the previous pranks had indeed been carried out by this nurse, she had no evidence whatsoever, and moreover, it was still just a guess at this point.

Mo Qi smiled inwardly at her own preconceived notions, viewing others through a hostile lens and thus finding malicious intent in everything they saw.

Carrying the dinner and midnight snack back to the ward, Shen Yijue saw her return and said into his phone, "Let's leave it at that for now." With that, he hung up.

Mo Qi did not ask who he had been speaking with. Tossing her clothes aside, she took out the fried rice and fried noodles. "Fried rice or fried noodles?"

"What would you rather have?" Shen Yijue placed his phone on the bedside cabinet and asked.

"Fried noodles."

"Then I'll have the fried rice."

Mo Qi felt a warm sweetness blossom in her heart. She opened the container of fried rice, handed it to Shen Yijue, and sat down beside him to eat her noodles.

Shen Yijue picked up a mouthful of fried rice. He was not quite accustomed to this kind of flavor, but he did not show it on his face, continuing to eat at an unhurried pace.

As she ate her noodles, Mo Qi looked up at him and offered a mouthful on her chopsticks. "Try the noodles. They're not bad. Though not as good as the ones you fry."

Shen Yijue took a bite from her chopsticks. A bit too much sauce had been used, making the flavor overly heavy. After swallowing the noodles, Shen Yijue said, "I'll fry some for you again later."

"Speaking of which, I've always found it quite strange," Mo Qi said, sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed. "Logically speaking, a young master like you, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, shouldn't even know what scallions and garlic shoots look like. How is it that you're so good at cooking?"

Shen Yijue put down his chopsticks and remained silent for a moment before replying, "My mother divorced my father when I was very young. There was no woman to take care of the household, and the nanny always slacked off because there were no adults around, so I gradually learned to make simple things myself. Later, when I went abroad to study, I rented a place and cooked for myself. After a long time, I actually grew to dislike eating out."

Mo Qi swallowed the noodles in her mouth. "Then where is your mother now?"

"Both of my parents have remarried and started new families," Shen Yijue said calmly. "However, with the old master holding down the fort at home, the Shen family didn't have any more children. Instead, my mother gave birth to another child. You know him too; it's Tang Bin."

Given Old Master Shen's methods, if he did not want his own grandson to be wronged, it would have been exceedingly easy for him to prevent another woman from conceiving and bearing a child.

"Ah?" Mo Qi took a moment to process this. "Tang Bin is your younger brother?"

Shen Yijue nodded indifferently.

Mo Qi finally began to understand why Tang Bin always seemed so fond of making things difficult for Shen Yijue. But was this purely because maternal love had been shared, or simply a younger brother's bid for his older brother's attention?

With Shen Yijue as an actor and Tang Bin as a director, it certainly looked very much like a younger brother following closely in his older brother's footsteps.

Mo Qi chuckled softly. Shen Yijue looked at her. "What is it?"

"I suddenly feel like Director Tang might actually be quite amusing." Mo Qi finished the modest portion of noodles in her box in just a few bites, while the fried rice in Shen Yijue's box remained largely untouched.

Knowing that he surely could not stomach such commoner food, Mo Qi picked up the pig's trotters soup, took a sip herself, and then handed it over. "This tastes decent. Here."

Shen Yijue tried some and found it indeed much better, so he picked up a piece of the trotter and fed it to Mo Qi.

Mo Qi did not stand on ceremony; she bit down on it and happily gnawed away.

The nurse stood silently outside the door, taking in everything inside the ward, a dark madness gradually welling up in her eyes.

Neither Mo Qi nor Shen Yijue noticed anything happening outside. After finishing their dinner and late-night snack, the two of them lay together on the bed to chat, falling asleep not long after.

When they woke up the next morning, Guan Min had already completed the discharge procedures and came to call for their departure.

Shen Yijue's wound was still slightly swollen, but his strength had returned, and walking with a little support was not a problem.

Xiao Zhang helped Shen Yijue change his clothes while Mo Qi packed her garments in the ward, planning to put them in a bag. While doing so, she discovered a square piece of Xuan paper inside.

The Xuan paper was as white as snow, bearing three characters written in blood-red pigment:

Go to hell!

The paper had been picked up before the pigment had completely dried, leaving long, smeared trails of crimson beneath every stroke, looking somewhat shocking to the eye.

Noticing that Mo Qi had stopped moving, Guan Min asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much." Mo Qi leisurely folded the note, tucked it into her pocket, and packed her damp clothes as well. Walking over with a smile, she said, "Let's go."

"Are you really sure nothing's wrong?" Guan Min cast a sharp glance at Mo Qi's trouser pocket.

"Really."

By this time, Shen Yijue had already changed and reached the doorway, supported by Xiao Zhang.

Although doubts lingered in Guan Min's mind, he did not pursue the matter further. "There are fans blocking the front entrance, so we'll take the small side exit."

The others raised no objections, and the four of them departed together.

Passing the nurses' station, Mo Qi deliberately glanced over. Yesterday's nurse was not there—whether she had changed shifts or was deliberately avoiding her remained unclear.

The four of them took the elevator down to the first floor and headed toward the secluded side exit near the hospital.

This pathway was usually used by the hospital's cleaning staff, leading out to a quiet little street where a car was parked not far away.

Guan Min opened the car door first and got in, while Shen Yijue stood by the door, looking at Mo Qi.

Feeling a twinge of reluctance in her heart, Mo Qi proactively stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm only playing a supporting role with few scenes; I'll be able to return to City B soon."

"I know," Shen Yijue said, releasing her. "Xiao Zhang is staying behind to join the crew and take care of you. I've already called Tang Bin to let him know."

"That won't do." Mo Qi shook her head without hesitation. "Brother Xiao Zhang is your assistant. If he stays, who will help you manage your daily affairs?"

"I have more than just one assistant," Shen Yijue insisted.

Seeing that the two of them were reaching an impasse, Xiao Zhang hurriedly stepped in to mediate. "Mo Qi, you're shooting a wilderness tracking film out here alone. Shen Ge definitely wouldn't be at ease without someone around to look after you. Besides, Shen Ge has already assigned me to be your assistant. If you don't accept me, I'll be out of a job."

Mo Qi smiled wryly.

In any relationship, mutual concession and accommodation were always necessary.

Since Shen Yijue was finally willing to let her handle her own affairs, she should also change a little herself.

Mo Qi nodded. "Alright then, Brother Xiao Zhang can stay and help me."

Shen Yijue's expression finally softened a bit. He took out his own phone and handed it to Mo Qi. "Your phone won't have a signal in the mountains. Use mine."

Of course, a phone worth two or three hundred couldn't possibly compare to one costing several thousand.